How Do You Like Your Tea, Mr Kaiba?
by InsaneShadowFan
Summary: After failing to get accepted into her dream school, Juilliard, Tea Gardner is forced into going to a job interview for a position as a nanny. Unfortunately for her, the employer just so happens to be Seto Kaiba. please read Author's Note
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: The Businessman and the Cheerleader**

_Posted: 8/04/09_

_**ISF: **__This is copy and pasted from my profile. Skip for those who aren't interested_.

**MAJOR EPIC DRAMA STORY, LOL**

You see, four years ago, I had begun to talk to a girl named Andi-chan on Fanfiction, who had a fic called "How Would you like your TEA, Mr. Kaiba?" I left, admittedly, scathing reviews on it due to her poor writing, and after a short argument by email, we forgave one another and she asked me if I wanted to beta it. Having never been a beta before, I didn't understand that beta readers merely fixed typos and reworked sentences that were grammatically messed up and things of the sort. So I pretty much revamped the whole story. I spent hours rewriting the whole damned story, and did so for nine chapters and two months. After becoming stressed out due to my schedule, I told her, point-blank that I couldn't take it anymore. So, naturally... she posts the next chapter of her story, basically bashing me for bailing out on her and being unreliable. I ignored it, however, and still reviewed her stories... but a part of me resented her.

I forgot about the story for some time, until a few days ago out of curiosity I looked it up. I realize now that nearly all of the writing for the first nine chapters was basically mine. And I really feel like should be entitled to posting the first chapters under my name, because I was not acknowledged at ALL for my work on the story, not even as a beta writer. It may seem petty to some, but, as I'm sure many of you fellow writers feel as well, nothing hurts quite as much as working so hard at something only to receive no credit for it. So I will, after some slight editing and revising, be reposting the nine chapters that I wrote. Hell, I might even take the story in a different direction at that.

_That aside, I will gladly give credit where it is due and acknowledge that the plot is rather loosely based on Andi-chan's original version of "How Would You Like Your TEA, Mr. Kaiba?", which is unfortunately not available on Fanfiction due to her uploading my chapters in their places. Any chapter after Chapter 9 is all hers. And that is where the similarity ends. May the story begin!_

-

o o o o o

-

_Dance. _

_That one word defines a lot.. Well...a lot about me, that is. I am a dancer. Or rather, was a dancer. _

_Until the day that my dreams were shattered._

_I danced my heart and soul out for the audition. I paid all of the expenses while hanging onto the false dream that I would get into the world famous school for dancing, Juilliard._

_Even after all of that hard work that I had put into it, the only comment I received was,_ _"Miss Gardner, you have potential, just not enough to reach the expectations of this school. Try again when you are more experienced."_

_Each word was like a needle piercing my heart again and again. I had nothing left to do and was in a state of depression for quite some time. I applied for many jobs, but it seemed that the only talent that I had was dancing._

Tea closed her diary and sighed. It was 8:30 am and she had to start another day of job interviews. She was being interviewed to become some little boy's regular babysitter (probably some snotty, over-privileged rich boy), and a personal maid. But the bonus to the job was that she was able to live with her employer until she resigned or was fired.

She slipped out of her nightgown and put on a plain pink blouse and a rather short white skirt, then pulled her hair in a ponytail. Her hair had grown a lot in the last few years and now reached her mid back. She turned off the light and slipped on pink high heels, then locked her door and walked out of her apartment.

Though it was very windy outside, she assumed that she didn't need a jacket. How very wrong she was...

o o o o o

Seto Kaiba was sitting in his obviously expensive limousine, being driven to the New York City headquarters of Kaiba Corporations. Despite the usually cold, emotionless facade on his face, it was clear that he was far from happy. His brother's babysitter, one of his many rabid fan-girls, had attempted to weasel information about Seto from Mokuba. The memory made him sigh in frustration. He rubbed his forehead, clearly aggravated. How many had he gone through in the last month that had done nearly the same thing? One of his personal maids had also been leaking information to one of his rival companies. She was punished severely, of course. What else would one expect from him? But regardless, Seto had lost two of his employees in one day. And that was not a good thing.

He turned his head and looked out the window absentmindedly, and was surprised at what he saw. There, wandering the town, in nothing but a blouse and skirt, was Tea Gardner.

_Kaiba was standing on the ledge of Pegasus's tower. Yugi was staring at him, lost for words._

_"If you attack again, you'll take my life in the next round. I'm willing to die in a duel," Kaiba said flatly, gazing at Yugi, who still had nothing to say. He continued._

_"And if I were you, I'd push my enemy over personally, without hesitation."_

_Yugi seemed to be having an argument inside himself. The his gang of friends waited in suspense. Finally, it seemed as if Yugi forced himself to cry, "Celtic Guardian, attack!"_

_The monster raced forward, its sword raised..._

_"Yugi! Please stop!"_

_The scream shot through the air like a bullet. Tea was running towards Yugi._

_"Yugi, please! This isn't right!"_

_Yugi stopped the attack. The Celtic Guardian slowed down to a halt, then retreated back to its spot on the board. Yugi fell to his knees._

_"Blue Eyes, attack Yugi's Celtic Guardian with White Lightning!" Seto roared. The Blue Eyes reared its head, and sent a devastating bolt of lightning over to his enemy, obliterating it completely. Yugi's head was down, but Kaiba knew that he was crying. Seto smirked._

_Yugi's friends ran to his aid. Just like them, Seto thought with a sneer. Just as he was about to leave, however, Tea stopped him._

_"Yugi has friends. Yugi has US! But what do you have at the end of the day, Seto Kaiba? Tell me!_ Tell me!_"_

_"I have what I need!" he snapped, walking off, trench coat flapping behind him._

"Yes...if I do remember clearly, that is the girl that saved my life...not that I asked her to."

He saw her shivering.

"Hm...my suspicions are confirmed. That girl is insane. It's below freezing out there and she is promenading around town in a miniskirt and blouse—not that I care," he assured himself. "I mean, if she dies, that's one less of Yugi's annoying gaggle of friends to worry about."

_But it's eleven degrees out there._

'Huh? Who's that?'

_Your conscience. Go help Gardner, she'll freeze to death if you don't!_

'Who cares?'

He and his inner self battled, but the more reasonable side won, much to his fury.

"Driver, stay here." Kaiba ordered.

"But Mr. Kaiba, it's below freezing-"

"It's talking back to your employers like that that gets you fired," he interrupted icily, getting out of the limo and slamming the door.

Tea shivered again. Maybe she did need her jacket after all. _Too late now'_ she thought miserably. She kept on walking. "Ugh, at this rate I'll be an icicle by the time I get to my interview!"

"Next time, think about what you wear before you leave the house," the icy words cut through the already frozen air like a scalpel.

Tea turned around to see...

"Seto Kaiba! What are you doing here?" she demanded, receiving nothing but his signature smirk.

"Last time I checked, I was in the land of the free. Or do you not know your geography?" She ignored his scathing remark.

"If you'll excuse me, I have an interview to go to," she snapped. Kaiba's smirk grew wider.

"Hm. Looks like the cheerleader finally parted with her pom-poms, huh? I guess Yugi finally fired you and found somebody easier on the eyes."

Tea felt her anger boiling the blood in her veins. "Shut the hell up! My life is none of your business. But...if you must know..." she had a faraway look in her eyes as she continued. "I applied for Juilliard, but I didn't get accepted, so I'm looking for a job." _Why am I telling Kaiba this? I must be crazy._

Kaiba raised an eyebrow. He didn't expect an answer like that. In fact, he almost felt sorry for her...

_WHAT? What the hell is wrong with me today?_ He intentionally deepened his smirk to disguise his self-shock.

"Never apply for a job without a back-up plan, idiot."

Tea was about to snap back, but felt something warm being placed on her shoulders. The KC symbol expertly stitched on its front was conspicuous. Turning around to acknowledge him, she saw the door of his limo slamming shut.

"That man..." she said to herself, shaking her head. "I will never understand him. One minute he's insulting me, the next helping me out..."

o o o o o

"My babysitter better not be an old lady!" Mokuba huffed, stirring a cup of hot cocoa to its doom. Seto sighed at his brother's immaturity. They were sitting in a booth at Starbucks. The air was warm and smelled like cappuccinos, and, surprisingly, the place was nearly empty.

"And if they are...?" he teased. Mokuba gave him an evil glare.

"I'll never let you forget it."

Shaking his head at his younger sibling's gall, Seto checked his watch. _Tch. They're late. They should know that tardiness does not look good on job interviews. I sincerely hope it's a girl. God forbid that I get a male nanny like last time..._

Just thinking of that horrible memory made him shudder slightly.

As if on cue, the door to Starbucks opened. revealing (to Mokuba's relief) a young applicant. A very familiar young applicant, in fact...

"Tea?" Mokuba said incredulously. Seto, in the middle of swallowing a mouthful of coffee, saw her and had to do his best not to spray it out of his nose.

"Gardner?" Seto did NOT want her to be here at this present moment in time.

_Don't tell me she's applying for the job! Wait... _his horror was replaced with mild amusement._ I may be able to have some fun with this..._

"What are you doing here Gardner?" he demanded coldly. Tea stared at him, surprised.

Last time I checked, Kaiba, I was in the land of the free. Or do you not know your geography?"

Déjà vu.

"Let me rephrase the question for your convenience, then. What the hell is your reason for being here?" he asked, voice as cold as a winter tundra.

"I already told you earlier. But in order for you to comprehend, guess I have to say it again. I have an interview today with someone. Something about being a babysitter."

"Well...it just so happens that _I_ have to interview somebody today..." Kaiba smirked, malice glinting in his eyes. Tea looked confusedly, then quickly grasped the meaning of that statement. Her face was nearly chalk white in a matter of moments.

"You mean...that you're...but...how...?"

But in her head, she was saying, _Guess I should have paid attention to the initials in the corner of the flyer...oops._

"Yes. So, it seems that I have to interview you today, much to my dislike," Kaiba replied disdainfully. Biting her tongue to refrain from saying words not meant for an eleven year-old currently present to hear, Tea plopped in the seat across from the pert blue-eyed man. Tea realized now that the chances of getting this job were lower than getting struck by lightning...after getting maimed by a shark...twice.

"So tell me, what are your talents, _Miss_ Gardner...if any?" he finished with slight laugh.

"Cooking, dancing, watching kids, cleaning, if you can call that a talent, singing, and computer programming," she responded robotically. Seto raised an eyebrow at the last one. He was sure that she meant to mock him, but he did not take the bait.

"Hm."

The waiter arrived, carrying a pitcher of newly brewed, black coffee.

"Here is your coffee refill, Mister Kaiba sir," she said in a high, breathy voice. "Would you like anything, miss?"

"Well, I guess a Shirley Temple, two slices of strawberry cheesecake, two pieces of chocolate swirl, a hamburger with a side of fries, and a small lemon ice cream, please," she turned towards Mokuba. "Anything for you?"

The boy gaped at her. "I thought that you were ordering for the both of us!"

She sighed. "Ok, another Shirley Temple for the young man," she replied to the rather bedazzled waiter. "I'll share with Mokuba."

Seto was, needless to say, shocked that all of that food could possibly fit in one person's body. All of the girls that he had interviewed in the past were obsessed with counting calories and with what they ate. She didn't seem to care. As an added bonus, Mokuba seemed to have a history with her. After all, she was the one that saved him at Battle City...

Apparently, Seto was so amazed, he didn't realize that Tea was pouring cream and sugar in his coffee until she handed it back to him cheerfully.

"Here, drink up!" she said brightly to him, receiving only a stony glare for her reward.

"Thank you for ruining my coffee, Gardner. I drink black." But in spite of that, he took the cup and drank a long gulp. Though not wanting to admit it, he didn't mind it this way. It was much less bitter than the usual way he drank it.

The waitress came back with their orders, albeit with quite a bit of difficulty.

"Let's see...a Shirley Temple for the young Mister Kaiba and Miss, two slices of strawberry cheesecake, two pieces of chocolate swirl, a hamburger with a side of fries, and a small lemon ice cream," she said, looking rather proud of herself for remembering all of the order. She looked at Seto. "Would you like anything, Mr. Kaiba?"

"..." He wasn't really hungry.

"That's ok! He'll share with me," Tea told the waiter, who walked away, extremely envious of the girl that would share lunch with her heart's desire.

"How did you know that I didn't want anything, Gardner?" Kaiba asked her. She glared at him fiercely.

"Because you should have said something, and I didn't want to be rude!" she exclaimed. "Here Mokuba, you can have one of my pieces of cheesecake."

"But I..." Seto was near apoplectic with rage.

"Well, If you want something to eat you can call the waitress back or share with us! Choose one," she snapped angrily. This wasn't about getting the job anymore. This was a battle, and she was going to win.

He growled. "Fine, have it your way!" Kaiba grabbed his spoon and dug into the lemon ice cream. Coincidentally, Tea was digging her spoon into the ice cream at the same time. Their hands touched. As if she were burned, Tea snapped her hand back and pushed the bowl over to Kaiba. Her hair covered her face just enough to hide flushed cheeks.

After they were done with their meal, Seto took out his black American Express card and paid. Tea got up to leave, but Kaiba grabbed her hand, giving her another reason to blush.

"Where are you going, you imbecile? You haven't even heard what I have decided." Tea gave a tired sigh at this.

"I know...I know I'm not the person you're looking for, since I'm Yugi's friend. You don't want anything to do with me."

"Actually, Gardner you're hired." Kaiba said curtly. "You will come home with us now and I will send someone to your house to get your belongings. Your job starts at 6:00 am sharp every morning."

"Whoo-hoo!" Mokuba cheered, jumping up and nearly upsetting a glass of water. Tea, however, was a bit more surprised. _He surprises me every day, but that's Seto Kaiba for you..._

"Thank you very much, Kaiba," she exclaimed, giving a 10,000-watt smile that caused a great many cars outside to swerve, tires squealing.

_...What the hell did I just do?_ Seto thought in dismay.

o o o o o

Tea sat on her bed. Her room was painted a plain white, but her bed was a four poster queen-size with cream-colored silk sheets. Her room was conveniently placed next to Mokuba's room for easy access to him, had a TV and computer on either side of her, and even had its own bathroom connected to it as well. The movers had taken all of her material possessions from her apartment and brought them to the mansion. She had played with Mokuba for a while, but now was waiting for him to finish his bath. There was a knock on her door followed by a muffled "TEA! I'm done." Sighing, she opened her door and went into Mokuba's room, finding him sitting cross-legged on his bed, donning green pajamas and his hair still damp.

"Well, I guess it's time for you to go to bed," she said to him.

"I don't think I can sleep," he replied, staring at her. She sat on the end of his bed.

"Want me to read you a bedtime story?" she playfully teased. Mokuba's nose wrinkled at that.

"No way! I'm not some kind of baby!"

"Alright alright, I won't read you a story. Do you want me to sing to you then?" she asked him. Mokuba thought about it, then shrugged.

"Well, I guess that's much better than a bedtime story." Tea scooted closer to him, and started humming a song softly, then singing the words. Her voice was like a gentle wind blowing through a forest. It was untrained, but very pleasant nonetheless.

Mokuba was asleep by the time that she was done singing. She tucked the bangs falling over his face and sweetly smiled at his deep slumber.

"You have an rather endearing voice, you know."

Shocked, Tea jumped up, then realized that she may have awoken Mokuba with her sudden movement. The boy stirred, but turned over, still dreaming sweetly. Turning, Tea saw the familiar smirk of Seto Kaiba. Tea tiptoed out, followed by him. After safely making it out without disturbing Mokuba, she turned around and faced the CEO.

"Wow..._the_ Seto Kaiba giving _me_ a compliment? The world really is changing every day."

It wasn't very often that he gave compliments. And those who were lucky enough to receive them just said thank you. Kaiba stared at her, not pleased, yet not exactly angry.

_'Gardner is a fool. But I suppose that now I have to teach her to pick her battles more wisely._

Smirking, he took a step towards her.

"I'm assuming that you know you are going to be like a nanny to Mokuba, helping him study, cleaning up anything that the rest of the house staff have missed, and the like," he said to her, swiftly placing his cold mask on once again. She nodded dumbly, obviously not knowing where this conversation was going.

"Yes...." Kaiba continued silkily, clearly enjoying the moment. "Then I'm trusting that you also know that you are also appointed as my personal maid, correct?"

"...YOUR WHAT?"

Oh, crap. She had forgotten all about that.

-

o o o o o

-

_**ISF: **__And that's the end of the first, newly revised chapter. I did not change very much, aside from certain descriptions and fixing misspellings and the like, not wanting to alter it too much for remembrance's sake. Take note that my style of writing in this is not as refined as in my most recent works. This _was _written four years ago. But if any of you have any complaints, please let me know and I'll gladly listen. Thank you for reading, and please review!_

_FIN_


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: The Argument**

_posted: 8/05/09_

_**ISF: **__Another chapter of "How Do You Like Your Tea, Mr. Kaiba?" right and ready. Since the story is already written, it's not terribly time consuming for me to edit and revise._

_I'd like to thank __**patriot16, The Duelist's Heiress, **__and __**Egyptionkitty **__for their comments and criticism._

_**Egyptionkitty, **__that's just the worst, isn't it? Meticulously proofreading your stuff only to find more mistakes after uploading it? Grumble, grumble... Grammar's also not my forte. I'm pretty darn good at spelling, but we covered grammar so early in elementary school... I wish high schools would teach it as a class, because you just can't remember all of the little things that you learned so long ago. But anyways, I'm just glad that you agree with me on the whole affair. Now I know I'm not being too crazy or anything. Hehe._

_Without further ado, on with the chapter!_

o o o o o

"YOUR WHAT?" she exclaimed. Tea looked like she had been forced to drink a glass of sludge. Kaiba was completely unfazed by her outburst.

"I hate repeating myself, Gardner," he said coldly. Tea became enraged at his cool indifference.

"Just because I'll be your maid doesn't mean that you can treat me like garbage!" she snapped. "Last time I checked, the application didn't say anything about me having to be your punching bag!"

"Really? Well...I'll be sure to remember to put that on my next application, then." He smirked.

Tea realized that he was mocking her.

"You're such a jerk!" she spat out. Kaiba's insulting smile grew wider.

"Why, _thank you_ very much. You know, I believe that is the first time you have given me a compliment actually worth believing."

"What makes you think that you're setting a good example for your brother, being so cruel to other people?" Kaiba's smile vanished. He looked her once over with a glance that was composed of equal parts of both scorn and venom.

"You're walking on thin ice, Gardner." Kaiba's words came on in a smooth hiss. But in the back of his mind, he heard a voice begin to taunt him.

_**Why are you lying to yourself? You know that she speaks the truth...**_

"So? It's true! He looks up to you and you know that he is going to learn from you! What, do you want him to be a cold, miserable human being like you? What would your mother have said if she—"

The words came out too fast for her to stop them. Instantly, the color on Kaiba's cheeks began to drain. He looked like she had slapped him. Tea's hands flew up to her mouth, a little too late.

"You just shut up now, you worthless little girl," he said with a snarl. "Don't you _ever _speak like that again in my house. You have no right to talk about either me or my family, you stupid twit, and should you ever decide to show such impudence in my presence again, by God I promise you that you will rue the day that you ever walked into my home, because I will personally make your life a living hell!"

He turned and swiftly strode down the hallway, flinging the door leading to the stairwell aside. The door swung so hard that the doorknob impacted the wall and left a fist-sized hole as evidence of Kaiba's temper. Tea stared at it. She fell on her knees, hands still over her mouth.

o o o o o

_Beep! Beep! Beep! _An alarm clock set on a white wicker end table rang loudly and obnoxiously. A figure that had been sleeping the bed groaned and uncurled itself, slapping the clock into silence. Tea stretched and picked it up while stifling a yawn. She stared at the time for a moment, her mouth dropping open.

It was only 3:30 in the morning

"What the hell? Who set it so early?" she fumed, then sighed, accepting her fate. Once she was awake, she could not go back to sleep for hours. _ I least I have time to take my bath now, _she thought.

Tea slipped out of bed and stumbled sleepily to her bathroom. She stripped off her clothes and turned the hot water faucet on full blast. What she needed now was a hot soak to relax. Yes, relaxation was something that she had little of lately, and it was something that she was in dire need of.

She floated in the steaming water and stared up at the ceiling, contemplating last night's events.

"_What makes you think that you're setting a good example for your brother, being so cruel to other people?" _

_"You're walking on thin ice, Gardner_

"_So? It's true! What would your mother have said if she—"_

_"You just shut up now, you worthless little girl...I will personally make your life a living hell!"_

She sighed guiltily, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"I can't believe I said that..." she muttered while scrubbing her shoulders furiously, oblivious to the fact that she was rubbing them raw. "That was a bit...well..._very _mean of you, Tea. You really need to go and apologize to him when he wakes up. Make amends with the guy."

But, a corner of her mind laughed at this. _He started it! Why should I go apologize if it's HIS fault? He's always been making fun of me and the gang-_

She jerked a little at the mention of the gang, then shook her head and wiped shampoo lather away from her cheeks.

Sighing in frustration, she finished her bath and went back to her room to change.

_I don't have my maid uniform yet,_ she realized, groaning. She opened her suitcase and found, jammed between a few pairs of jeans, her old school uniform.

"Huh? I didn't even know I still had that," she said to herself. "Well, it may not be a maid uniform, but it's better than nothing, I guess," she unfolded the blouse and skirt, checking the fabric for any rips and tears.

_This thing brings back memories of Domino... I wonder if it even still fits me, _ she thought. "Might as well give it try, I guess."

o o o o o

It was dark.

"Seto!" the boy screamed. Only silence answered him.

"Is anyone there?" he yelled pleadingly out into the ethereal blackness. A woman appeared before him and gave him a kind smile. He stared at her bright eyes wonderingly.

"...Who is that...?"

Mokuba woke up with a start. Or rather, Mokuba was woken up. That was when he saw it, Brown hair and blue eyes. Seto? But...it was a woman.

"M..mommy...?"

"Mokuba, it's me, Tea," the girl said. He saw that her face showed a worried expression.

"Oh." The disappointment was obvious. Tea moved closer to him.

"Mokuba? If you don't mind me asking, what happened to your mother?"

Mokuba's eyes were clouded with sorrow. He sat up in his bed and wiped a bead of sweat from his brow.

"She...she died when I was born," he answered quietly. A few tears fell down his cheeks, not gone unnoticed by Tea. Her hand moved to wipe them away.

"Oh...I'm so sorry, Mokuba. I shouldn't have even mentioned it," she said softly. He shrugged, ineffectively hiding his pain.

"It's not your fault or anything. It was a long time ago."

_So that's why Kaiba got so mad at me._

Tea pulled Mokuba into a tight embrace. Though shocked by the physical contact (he probably did not receive many hugs from his brother), Mokuba returned it rather awkwardly. Her voice, muffled by his pajamas, said, "Well, you don't have to worry, Mokuba. I'm here for you whenever you need me."

"You promise?"

"I promise. Now I want you to go back to sleep, ok?"

"Um...could you sing to me again?" he asked. She nodded and gave him a smile.

"Alright, but you have to go to promise to fall asleep."

"Uh-huh." squirming back under his covers, he waited for Tea's voice to lull him back to slumber. Tea tucked him in gently, humming like before, then singing softly. Mokuba's eyes were closed by the time the song ended. Tea stroked his hair, inwardly sighing. _I wish that I was still as innocent as him...._

Mokuba woke up from a dreamless sleep. He made a move to get out of bed, but something was stopping him. He tried to wiggle out of its grip but it was nearly impossible. Then, he heard a soft noise and felt something on his chest snuggle into a more comfortable position. Looking down, he saw Tea's soft brown hair falling over her peaceful face. Yes, it was her. _Why was she in his bed...?_

_She must have fallen asleep right after me. _He drifted off to sleep again without another thought.

o o o o o

It was after six in the morning, yet Seto still had not gone to sleep. It was completely impossible, he thought, turning his body around to face the wall. He did not even bother to close his eyes.

All night, he had been thinking about two things. One was his parents.

The other was Tea Gardner.

More so of the latter.

_Hmph! That lazy, ditzy fool better not be slacking off or I will axe her whenever I get the chance!_

Those words that she spoke to him last night...she didn't know what impact those words had.

"_What makes you think that you're setting a good example for your brother...?_

_"You're walking on thin ice, Gardner. _

_**Why are you lying to yourself? You know that she speaks the truth...**_

"_...What, do you want him to be a cold, miserable human being like you? What would your mother have said if she...."_

The same words had been ringing through Seto's mind for the past ten hours.

"You have no idea of what I've been through, Gardner. If you did, you wouldn't even dare to open your mouth to me," he growled into his pillow, mashing it with his fists into a fluffy blob of cotton and feathers.

_**So why is she even here? Fire her and she won't remind you of the past you worked so hard to escape from,**_a voice in the back of his mind said coldly. Seto nodded, agreeing completely with the voice's sense.

"That's right. I have to fire her or I won't ever have peace of mind..."

_But what about Mokuba, he likes her a lot... you're being selfish. And if you do fire her, she'll be without a job or a home.... _Another voice pleaded, intent on changing his mind.

_**Why do you have to care? **_the other voice barked back. _**Remember, if you her out of the way that's just one less of Yugi's slimy little friends to worry about.**_

"I'm going to fire her," he finally reassured himself, getting out of bed and putting on his clothes. "What happens to her is none of my concern."

Seto walked down to her room only to find an empty bed. _Is she in Mokuba's room...?_ He opened the door to his little brother's room. Nobody but Mokuba himself, sleeping peacefully.

_Not here either..._

He noticed a folded piece of paper on his brother's dresser and picked it up.

_Dear Seto and Mokuba,_

_I've gone out on a walk. I don't know where I'm going, but I want to get familiar with this area. I'll be back before daybreak!_

_Tea_

Kaiba rolled his eyes. She had dotted all of her i's with stars. _Well, now I guess _I'm_ the one that is going to have to go track her down so I can fire her sorry tail._

o o o o o

Tea shivered, feeling the crisp morning air run against her arms and legs. Once again, she had made a misjudgment on the weather. She had grown slightly taller, so her uniform skirt was even shorter than it was supposed to be. She sneezed. _Must be getting a cold or something..._

She sneezed again. Tea's hands went up to her forehead. _I'm so lightheaded...what is wrong with me'_

"Hey!" She heard Kaiba's raspy voice shouting at her. Coughing, she turned around to face him.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" he yelled at her, face twisted in fury. "Running around in that outfit, it's even colder than it was yesterday!"

"I know... I'm sorry Kaiba," she said quietly. She coughed, her face flushed. She felt a wave of dizziness come over her.

"Don't you learn from your mistakes, Gardner? You should learn to wear a jacket when you go out!"

He received no reply from her.

"Gardner?"

"Seto..." she fell forward, caught just in time by Kaiba, who had not even realized that she called him by his first name.

"GARDNER!"

o o o o

_**ISF: **__...and that's a wrap, people. Until next time!_

_FIN_


	3. Chapter 3

**Sleeping Patterns**

_posted: 08/10/09_

_Reviewer Comments:_

_**Silver Fantasy:**__ Thanks for the review. I didn't hate Andi-chan when I was beta-ing, and I don't really hate her now or anything like that. It was just frustrating for me to help somebody out to receive no name recognition and to be insulted when not having the available time to continue working for her. But I'm not really one that keeps grudges. Some of my other friends are a different story...LOL. I agree that Kaiba's changing is more sudden than it would realistically be. Hopefully the fact that this is a romantic comedy, at least for the first few chapters, makes it more excusable. I'm happy that you found Kaiba's inner turmoil to be amusing, because I like to imagine the typical angel and devil on his shoulders arguing with one another while editing it. LOL And I happen to love the abridged series, who doesn't? I mean, Kaiba's got a dragon fetish and sounds like Brock from Pokemon! "Screw the rules, I'm in love with Nurse Joy!" Of course, I like to change Nurse Joy to Charizard for extra laughs. Again, I'm totally grateful and psyched that you left me such a thoughtful and interesting review, you're the best!_

_**XxGoddess AthenaxX: **__You're very sweet for giving me emotional support. ^_^ Thank you so much. I put in that little bit at the end about her needing to pay attention to initials as a bit of a joke on all the nanny/secretary fics with Kaiba and Tea/Serenity/Joey/etc. How do these people not know who their boss will be? LMAO._

_**Egyptionkitty: **__I don't mind the bits about my grammar, it shows me you're really reading into the material. If it's not too much to ask, could you possibly point out any grammar mistakes that I make? It sounds like I'm making the same mistakes over and over again and I'm not aware of them...that irritates me to no end. (giggle) I must aspire to Supreme Commander position of the Grammar Nazi Army! And yeah, you make a good point about Tea's OOCness. She never was one for sarcasm. There's a plot detail in this chapter that may explain why she's not quite as naive and sweet. I think that while Mokuba and Tea got buddy-buddy very quickly, we can let it slide since he has a lack of and desire for a mother figure in his life and he's been fairly pleasant to Tea and the fact that he was once rescued by her during the early part of Battle City. Whew, that's a run on sentence! ^_^; You're a very consistent reviewer, so I gotta give you props for that. Until next chapter, babe! ;)_

_**itsabell-chan: **__Updating now. XD You seem to really like this story. I'm very grateful for your support!_

_**Anavihs: **__Yeah, you gotta wonder how much Kaiba depends on his maids and butlers and computers. I wonder if he's even capable of cooking and cleaning up after himself. -_-; To answer your question about the cold weather, I wouldn't say that it's directly responsible for causing illness. But coldness can be a contributing factor to a weakened immune system, along with stress, not to mention that every winter in the United States (I'm not sure about any other country) there is a new flu season and people pay to get vaccinated when it may not even work against the newest strain of flu virus, so it's not unreasonable to say that all that together is what caused Tea's sickness. I mean, come on, the girl consistently forgets to wear a jacket, has been rejected by her dream school, and is now employed by her sworn enemy. (laughs) If that doesn't weaken one's immune system, I don't know WHAT will. Moving on, though! You have no idea how happy it makes me to receive such compliments on my work, it's a major mood uplift-er. :) Thanks again, hope you like this new chapter!_

_o o _

_..Daaa-yam, my comments were long. More than a page in Microsoft Word! Sorry about that, folks, I may have to move Reviewer Comments to the end of the new chapters if they get much longer than this. But anyways, here's chapter three! _

-

o o o o o

-

Seto listened to the rhythmic sound of Tea's breathing as he watched her sleeping form. He did not know why, but somehow it was so...relaxing_. _Although he really hated to admit it, he had been troubled about her condition. Butnobody could blame him, he reassured himself firmly. After all, she had been sleeping for a day and a half in a feverish haze. He thought about how furious she had made him when she went out.

_**She's just some little kid...I don't even know **_**why**_** I hired her**__._ He had wanted to get rid of her but after this incident, he didn't want to throw her out right after she regained full consciousness. It would be a pretty rotten thing to do even by his standards.

Great, he was going soft...he could see the headlines already.

"Shocking News! Ruthless Corporate Bastard of Kaiba Corporations Shows Compassion to Another Human Being! Entire Galaxies Explode in Result!"

Hey, the man worked very hard to earn his bad reputation.

But Kaiba was also worried about his brother. Mokuba had been working himself into a tearful frenzy ever since he saw Gardner in her unconscious state. Seto gazed at his brother, who was curled in a little ball on the foot of Gardner's bed, fitfully sleeping. Although he had tried to get him to go to sleep in his room, the kid had refused. He just held onto the girl's shirt, afraid to let her go. Afraid to lose the closest thing to a mother he had in a long, long time.

That was the thing about Mokuba that surprised him the most. Mokuba had dozens of baby-sitters in the past, but he was so bitter to them all. And here he was, acting as if Gardner of all people was his mother. It made Seto jealous. He was the one that had taken care of Mokuba at the dump of an orphanage, and he was the person that made sure that Gozaburo never harmed the boy like he did Seto. And Mokuba was acting towards Gardner in nearly the same way he treated Seto. But it had a different sort of undertone to it. To Mokuba, Seto was his brother, but there was also a hint of awe and respect to Mokuba's feelings. Seto could do no wrong in his brother's eyes. With Gardner, there was a sort of gentleness in Mokuba's manner toward her that was not quite the same as with Seto.

Kaiba looked back at Gardner. Her face was flushed. She still had a fever, but it had gone down a good deal. Her night clothes that one of the female members of his staff had changed her into was clinging to her sweaty body like a second skin.

_How in the world did she think that she could go outside wearing something like that and not expect to get noticed' _Her sheer density amazed him. The other girls that worked as babysitters, they wore things twice as revealing as that uniform. And they did expect to get noticed...by him. Always flipping their hair and winking at him like the brainless fools they were, trying to seduce him. Gardner was different from all of them. So naive.

_What about her friends? The Dog, Yugi, Tristan, Mai, Serenity, Duke, and the rest of those morons...huh. They probably wouldn't be agreeing with the fact that she is staying at my home...but from what I've heard, they really aren't her friends anymore, are they?_

o o o o o

Tea's eyes fluttered open. Almost immediately, she was attacked by a migraine that blurred her vision. It felt as if somebody had dropped a grand piano on her head. She tried to remember the last thing that had happened, but her mind was as blank as a newly erased chalkboard. Tea looked around the room to see if there was anything that indicated where she was, but could barely identify anything in the room at all thanks to the spots in her vision. She rubbed her eyes and squinted. The first image that her brain deciphered shocked her.

Seto was sleeping deeply in a chair next to her bed. His normally forbidding scowl had been replaced with a less stern frown, yet composed and ever-dignified even in sleep. It reminded Tea of her late grandfather, who always reprimanded her in front of her parents, but gave her peppermints as soon as their heads were turned. He almost looked cute in his slumber.

But...where was Mokuba? She looked around the room to find him, but didn't see the little boy anywhere. Trying to get up to look for him, she winced. Something was on her feet and her legs had fallen asleep. She looked down and her pained expression vanished. There he was, sound asleep in a little ball, like a kitten in front of a fireplace. On his face she could see the trails that tears traced on his cheeks.

_I must have worried him sick... _Gently picking him up, she quietly carried him to his room and tucked him lovingly into his bed. Tea kissed his forehead and tiptoed out of the room, closing the door silently behind her.

_Now for the second Kaiba . . ._ she groaned at the thought. It was hard enough moving a twelve-year-old boy let alone a fully grown man that outweighed her by about thirty pounds.

She walked slowly to her room. Although she hated to wake Kaiba up, she didn't want him to wake up with a stiff neck and in a bad temper. She tapped him on the shoulder. He jerked a little but did not wake up. She shook him on the shoulders. He shifted in his seat, muttering in his sleep. Sighing, Tea slid his trench coat off of him and lifted him up by his arms, which was a very strenuous task considering his tall stature. Finally, she managed to get his upper body onto the bed. Now all that that there was left to do was get his legs up. She walked around him to get to his legs, and ended up tripping over her own feet, falling on top of him.

Tea stared at his sleeping form.

_Something about this feels so nice._

She was inches away from his lips. _I wonder..._

She closed the gap.

Seto stirred. It was enough to snap her back into reality.

_WHAT THE HELL AM I DOING?!_ She screamed in her head. She jumped off the bed and landed painfully onto the cold floor.

She stood up, rubbing her back. Then she gently lifted Kaiba legs up onto the bed. She realized what she had done, but she just couldn't help it. There was something about that face that gave her the urge to....

"Sweet dreams, Seto," she whispered in his ear before kissing him gently on the forehead. The girl put the comforter over him and walked out of the room.

o o o o o

Seto woke up. Then he looked around, startled. He knew already that he was in Tea's room, but he clearly remembered being in a chair. So why was he on the bed? And where was Tea and Mokuba?

Panic struck him. He ran to Mokuba's room, and found his brother in his bed. He looked relieved at Mokuba's safety, but the brief relief slipped off of his face when he remembered Tea.

_That idiot,_ he mused, striding through the house in search of her, his steps so long and agile that he looked like he was gliding through the hallways. _Why in seven hells would she be out of bed __when she just fainted two days ago? _

He flung the kitchen door open. Tea was at the sink, washing dishes.

She didn't notice Kaiba's entry. Trapped in her own little world, she was softly humming a song to herself while scrubbing a particularly stubborn pan. Something about her, the aura she was radiating...it seemed both lovely and sad.

o o o o o

_Tea was skipping in the school hallways cheerfully, headed to the school auditorium to retrieve her dancing shoes that she had left behind. She was on cloud nine. And why would she not be? She had great friends, good grades, and she finally was dating Yami. _

_Yami had chosen not to go to the afterlife after the ceremonial duel against Yugi, and had requested that the Gods grant him a separate body so he could finally have a true life with the friends he had made in the modern world. Yugi had gotten the happiest shock of his life when, a few weeks after that day, he had walked into his bedroom and found Yami sitting in a chair, smiling ear to ear._

_Yami began to attend school with the gang, under the pretense that he was Yugi's older cousin. He was excellent at math and history, so he was placed in another class which favored those two subjects. The people at school were freaked out by the fact that the two "cousins" looked so much alike, but they did not voice any suspicions, so everything worked out fairly well._

_One day, Yami pulled Tea aside after school, took her hand in his, and professed his feelings to her, asking if she would consider going out on what the modern world referred to as a "date". Tea was ecstatic and immediately said yes._

_It was a little weird in the beginning of the relationship. Tea was constantly mixing up Yugi and Yami, being that she was so used to the two sharing the same body. Neither one of them particularly minded too much, though. This was also the first time that she had ever had a boyfriend, but Yami was kind, gentle, patient, and quite the romantic._

_When she walked through the open doors of the auditorium, her happiness was instantly replaced with shock. Then rage. Then tears. _

_She saw the both of them together on the stage. A girl with jet black hair and clear green eyes. A woman that was much prettier than her._

_"Myra, I've loved you for a long time and I just wanted to tell you how I feel..."_

_"Why?" Myra asked him, wrinkling her nose in slight distain. "I thought you liked that other girl." _

_"I only said that I loved her because I thought that it was my destiny. But now I've realized...you are the only one that I truly love." _

_"I love you too," the woman murmured lovingly. She moved in for a kiss...Tea couldn't bear it any longer._

_"Yami!"_

_The scream echoed throughout the almost empty room. Yami jerked his head and saw Tea. His crimson eyes widened._

_"I trusted you...but now I know that what you said was all a lie," Tea said quietly. Though her face was turned downward, Yami could see the trails of tears falling down her rosy cheeks._

_"Tea..." _

_"No, Yami! I won't fall for it any longer!" she turned and slammed open the exit door and fled away._

_Had she listened any longer she would have heard him say, "...we were practicing for a school play..."_

o o o o o

She let the tears well up in her eyes at the memory. It was over and done with now. She had to move on.

"Tea?"

That was Seto's voice.

Tea hastily blinked away her tears. If there was one person that she didn't want to see her cry it was him. And Mokuba, of course. In spite of her haste to dry her eyes, she realized that he had called her by her first name. It was a first for him. Turning to him, she opened her mouth to reply.

"Yes?" she said politely. "I am doing my job correctly aren't I?"

Seto's normally emotionless mask failed him for a moment, but was back up in a flash.

"You absolute fool. Why the hell are you up? You've been sleeping for nearly two days straight with a fever. You can't just jump up and start walking around after that."

She winced at his sudden outburst, but soon retaliated. "So sorry that I decided to do my job, Mister Blue Eyes!"

"...What did you just call me?" he raised an eyebrow.

"I called you Mister Blue Eyes. You have a problem with that?"

"Well, I don't know...usually my employees call me Mr. _Kaiba_..." he said sarcastically, placing a stress on his actual name. Tea stared at him. Her fingers tapped her chin as she cocked her head to one side.

"Hmm...I just happened to think that the name suited you. After all, you have eyes that are blue, and the Blue Eyes White Dragon is your favorite card."

Kaiba looked taken aback. "How did you know that it was my favorite card?" he asked.

"Well, I don't know," she rolled her eyes, mimicking Kaiba's earlier sarcasm. "Maybe it's because half of everything you have is in the shape of a white dragon."

They stared at one another for a good while.

Finally, Seto shook his head, almost in pity.

"You are one odd girl, Gardner."

"Not as strange as you are, anyways...but I'll take that as a compliment." Tea stopped and smiled. "Hmm. . . Back to Gardner again, huh? Make up your mind already!" She said teasingly. Seto was confused.

"What in the world are you talking about?" he asked, irritated.

"Don't think I didn't notice. You called me Tea a minute ago. And that was the first thing that you said to me." she replied. Her grin stretched across her face.

The CEO's face flushed a light pink. He turned so that she couldn't see it. "I don't know what you are talking about," he said stiffly. Tea openly laughed.

"alright, then," she replied simply. She began to say something else, but was cut off by a sudden coughing fit.

"Gardner, do you _now_ see the importance of resting when you are ill?" Kaiba said patronizingly.

"I'm fine, Kaiba. I want to clean. I'm not going to bed and you can't make me," she stuck her tongue out childishly. To her discomfort, she saw a rather evil glint flickering in Kaiba's eyes.

"You want to bet?"

"What in heaven's name are you.." she did not get to finish her sentence when he picked her up by the waist, slung her effortlessly over his shoulder, and walked off towards the stairs.

"HEY! Seto Kaiba, put me down right this instant, or I'll make you bleed!" She raged, beating her fists against his back. He snorted in contempt.

"What, are you trying to injure me with your pathetic taps?" He continued up the stairs and reached her room. Walking in, he tossed her gently onto her bed. Tea jumped back up, but was pushed back down by Kaiba. She swung her hand back as if she was about to slap him, but he took both of her wrists and held them down above her head. His normally cold eyes glittered in mirth. Their noses were nearly touching, and his body was pressed against hers. She was having trouble breathing, partly from the pressure he was putting on her, but mostly because of the proximity of his body to her.

...And what an unusual position the two were in. Kaiba was taunting her silently. Even with all of her strength, he was not breaking a sweat.

"And what makes you think that I'll go to sleep now?" She yelled in his face. His smirk widened.

"Simple. I am going to lay down beside you until you do."

"WHAT? How do I know that you won't take advantage of me when I'm sleeping?"

Seto burst out in laughter. "Don't flatter yourself. I prefer women, not silly little girls."

"Fine! Now, if you please, will you let go of me?" she said in forced calm. He obliged. Huffing, she pushed him off of her and crawled into her covers, then closed her eyes. Her mind may have fought against the thought of rest, but her body evidently needed it. She fell asleep within minutes.

Kaiba leaned against the wall by the doorway, watching her sleeping form briefly. He made his way out of her room, but gave a backward glance in her direction before shutting the door.

"You never cease to amaze me...Tea."

-

o o o o o

-

_**ISF: **__I altered the canon ending of Yu-Gi-Oh in order to keep Yami around, just as an FYI. While I may have been able to use Yugi in the situation instead of Yami, there's bit later on in the fic that requires a character with Yami's particular personality, because it is something that Yugi, if he were dating Tea, would have never pulled. Then again, I don't think Yugi would ever cheat on Tea. (laughs) Yeah, I think I'm done with everything for now, so until next time! If you have any specific questions, feel free to ask in a review or to email me. My email's in my profile. Until next chapter!_

_FIN_


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four: Occurrences**

updated: 12/18/09

_**ISF: **__Hey, y'all! I know that new chapters are seriously overdue on my other works, but I felt like I needed to fix up this chapter first so I can ease into getting back to the swing of things. Christmas break has started for me, so hopefully I'll have a lot more time to post regularly. Plus, my grades for this semester are good, so hooray! (coughs) Not that most of you care, LOL._

_Because of the length of the reviewer comments, I have moved them to the end of the chapter. LOL, sorry. I prefer having them in front, but I'm sure it's plenty annoying for those readers out there who have to scroll down two pages to read the actual story._

_Now, for the chapter!_

o o o o o

Tea stretched her limbs. She was in her bed, having just woken up to the lovely morning sun shining brightly through her window. She felt much better after the refreshing sleep she had.

It was a shame she could not speak for everybody else in the Kaiba household.

Kaiba. Tea inwardly groaned. That jerk boss was probably back to his usual grumpy self, despite the rather surprising bit of kindness he showed yesterday. Or was it lechery? Tea rubbed the sleep from her eyes, frowning. She could not yet decide whether Kaiba wrestling her into bed constituted compassion or not. But hey, it was probably the closest thing to it that the man was capable of, right? She had to take what she could get.

Tea glanced at her alarm clock. Seven o'clock. Mokuba's school was about twenty minutes away, and class for him started at eight thirty. She slipped out of bed and brushed her teeth, ran a comb through her hair, and dressed before giving Mokuba his wake up call.

She knocked on his door, which was closed shut. There was no reply. She opened the door and peeked into the darkness. A sliver of light from the hallway shone onto Mokuba's sleeping form, which was curled up into a ball underneath his blanket. She was not surprised, since it was still rather early. Tea walked to his bedside and gently shook his shoulder.

"Mokuba, rise and shine," she said. "Time to wake up for school."

The boy stirred, sitting up in his bed and rubbing his eyes. He looked through his mussed up morning hair and caught sight of Tea. His eyes instantly snapped into alertness.

"Tea, you're alright!" he cheered, tackling her to give a bear hug.

"Yes Mokuba, I'm fine," she said, voice muffled by his unruly hair. Mokuba let her go and plopped back onto the foot of his bed. He crossed his arms, feigning seriousness, which gave him a stunning resemblance to his older brother.

"Do you have any _idea_ how worried I was? Seto was too, you know. When he brought you in the house you were unconscious!"

Tea's eyes widened in surprise. _Seto Kaiba actually DOES have a heart! _"Mokuba, we can talk about this later, okay? You need to get ready for school. I want you to go and brush your teeth and take a shower. I'll get your clothes ready while you do," she ordered. He nodded obediently and went to his bathroom. She could hear the sound of running water behind the closed door.

"Now what should I choose for him to wear?" Tea thought out loud to herself. Raiding his closet, she searched for a suitable shirt for him. She found one in a few minutes and neatly set it on his bed, then excavated his dresser for a pair of jeans. Finding a pair of khakis, she laid them on the bed beside the shirt. She then put a pair of socks and underwear next to them and went downstairs to prepare breakfast.

o o o o o

Seto woke up to the wonderful smell of bacon. After going through his usual morning routine he walked down the stairs to see what else was prepared. He was shocked that someone was cooking breakfast, for he had never hired a regular cook before. As amazing as it may sound, Seto prepared many of his and Mokuba's meals himself after taking over the household, due to his fears that a cook, bribed with money from one of his enemies, would poison one of their meals. And while admittedly, he was not particularly good at cooking, he managed to keep his brother well-fed, and as for himself . . . well, he usually never ate much anyway.

Seto opened the door into the dining room and saw a large and splendid breakfast laid out on the table.

There was crispy bacon, scrambled eggs, slightly toasted bread with butter, hot tea, succulent sausages, and golden-brown waffles. The person responsible even made him coffee, and the only person who ever had the nerve to make his coffee was...

Tea.

Not the drink.

Both Tea and Mokuba were both at the table. Mokuba was eyeballing the breakfast just like his brother, practically drooling, for the poor boy had never seen such a delicious breakfast in front of him in his entire life. Tea just sat in her chair, rather pleased at the two's reactions.

"Are you two finished gawking? Because if you are, then I think you should tuck in and start eating," said Tea. "I've been waiting, and, quite frankly, I'm about to faint from hunger."

Seto shook his head. He sat down at the table and reached for a serving spoon . . . only to have Tea promptly slap his hand with a spatula.

"What the hell is the matter with you?" Seto shouted, nursing his injured hand. Tea stared at him incredulously.

"You think after all the time that we've spent waiting that I'd let you get the first bite? You _must _be joking!"

Mokuba burst out in laughter at his brother's facial expression. His older brother looked as if the girl had told him she had flown to the moon and harvested a barrel of lunar cheese. Seto shut his mouth, which had dropped open in shock, and mumbled something incoherent under his breath.

"What was that?" Tea snapped, rather nastily. He didn't say anything else. "I _thought_ so."

The rest of the meal was silent. Seto was trying to think of some witty retort he could say, but was having a good bit of trouble making one up given the circumstances. Tea had a triumphant glow on her face as she ate her waffles, while Mokuba was trying hard not to laugh while shoveling down his eggs, unaccustomed to both eating home cooked breakfasts and seeing his brother struck speechless. Tea gave a sidelong glance at her watch. She gasped. "Mokuba, you need to get going, before you're late! Your jacket and your backpack are by the front door, and the limo is outside waiting for you."

Mokuba's eyes widened, and he dashed out of the dining room. A faint "Bye Tea, bye Setoooooo..." echoed from the hallway, and soon afterwards the two heard the door close shut.

Seto stared at Tea, rather surprised. He was shocked at how motherly she was to Mokuba. All of the other girls that had taken care of him had never even bothered to get his things ready before he left for school. He was jolted back into reality by Tea.

"Hey, Blue Eyes," she said. He sighed, beginning to feel rather irritated at her lack of respect, but oddly unable to call her out on it.

"What is it? Gardner, I don't have time to dawdle, I need to get to work."

"I was just wondering if I had to wear some kind of uniform while I do this job. Or can I wear my own clothes? I don't really want to wear a maid's outfit."

Seto raised one eyebrow. "You just answered your own question, Gardner. If you don't want to wear one you don't have to."

She looked surprised, but pleased, at this revelation, clearly expecting more arguing from the surly businessman. "Okay. So, as your personal maid, what kinds of things do I do? I mean, I know that don't just stand around every day answering to your beck and call."

"I could arrange that, you know," he said with a faint trace of his evil smirk.

"No thanks," was her flat reply. "Just answer the question, alright?" Seto gave an apathetic shrug.

"You basically arrange my documents, make my bed, do my laundry, and clean my room. And on occasion, other miscellaneous tasks I assign."

"So how am I different from any other maid?" she asked, a confused expression on her face.

"Well, as you can see, I do not have many employees in my house. I cannot trust most people, mostly because they sneak through my important documents, steal things, and use my little brother to get to me. I do not allow any of the regular maids entrance into my room."

"So...you're saying that you trust me?" She smiled.

This seemed to hit a soft spot. Immediately, he rose from the table and stared at her coldly.

"Look, Gardner, as much as I would _love_ to finish this conversation, I have things to do, as do you."

"Kaiba . . ." Tea quietly said. She was staring at her plate as she spoke to him. "Why is it that every time that I try to ask you something, you shrug off my question like it's nothing? Is it because you're afraid that someone will penetrate your barrier? I know that you aren't as hostile as you want people to think. I think I know what you're really like . . . "

Seto kept quiet. Every single word was a sharp dagger cutting into his chest.

". . . So why don't you let anyone know? Is it that frightening to have people see the person inside of you—"

"SHUT THE HELL UP, GARDNER!" The room practically shook from the sheer force of his voice. "You have no idea what I've been through! You're just a naive little kid!"

She was nearly blown back by the outburst, but stood her ground. "Then what exactly have you been through? If you would tell me, then maybe I can help . . ."

"I don't need help from the likes of you."

"And . . . just what do you mean by that?" Tea murmured, afraid of what his answer would be. Kaiba's face hardened.

"You . . . being the girl always cheering about friendship and happiness, upbeat, happy. You couldn't possibly understand what I've been through in my life. As if you can somehow relate to me. You know nothing about what it is like being orphaned, having to watch over your brother for years, being responsible for both him and a multi-billion dollar company. You have never had the responsibilities that I have, and you've always had your parents beside you no matter . . ."

"Didn't you just tell me not to assume things about you?" Tea snapped. "Then how in the world can you assume that my parents have supported me?"

"Because I'm not blind, Gardner. I've seen your parents before—"

"Don't . . . you . . . _ever _act as if you've seen my parents before," her voice shook slightly as she spoke. "You've never seen my parents before. Those were my foster guardians. My real parents are both dead."

She turned and walked quickly, unsteadily, out of the dining room, leaving Kaiba standing alone by the unfinished breakfast.

o o o o o

It was 2 o'clock in the afternoon at Kaiba Corporations. Seto drummed on his desk with a pen. His head was leaning on his free hand, and he stared into space. He was unable to concentrate on his work. The incident at breakfast played in his head like a broken tape recorder.

_"Don't you ever act as if you've seen my parents before . . ."_

_"You've never seen my parents before. My real parents are both dead."_

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Kaiba couldn't help but snicker. The way that she carried on, no one could have ever guessed. She had covered up her true emotions with a facade.

_"Dead . . ."_

Seto slammed his pen down on the table. He was strangely interested about Tea's past. He wanted to know more about her, and if it was the only thing he would accomplish today, so be it. He pressed one of the many buttons on a machine next to his computer, and almost automatically, one of his employees briskly walked in, ever ready.

"Yes, Mr. Kaiba?" The man said smoothly.

"Go and search for any information regarding Tea Gardner, age nineteen, female, country of birth, Japan," Seto replied crisply. The man nodded slowly, confused at his request.

". . . May I ask why, sir?"

Kaiba gave a hard stare at his employee. "No."

"I'll get right to work then, Mr. Kaiba," the man turned and walked out. He knew that pressing further would put his job in jeopardy, knowing Kaiba's temper.

By the end of the day, Seto had only three pieces of evidence. But they were more than enough. He had cleared his desk and had these objects spread out in front of him as he sat in his chair and studied them intensely, rarely blinking.

The first was a copy of a rather short article clipping. It was from the obituaries. A man named Tenshi Mazaki had been found dead in his car in a ditch nearly fifteen years ago, killed by drunk driving. Seto recognized the name as one of his father's previous business partners, whose company made defense programs and manufactured computer chips for some of the high-tech missiles that Kaiba Corp. used to make. He was survived by a five-year-old daughter.

The next was another article. It was titled "Mazaki Girl in Good Hands." Anzu Mazaki, after two years in an orphanage, had been taken in by a foster family. Although normally, she would be entitled to the money in her company, the board had torn each other apart in an attempt to gain the money that was invested into the company, and due to the legal mess, the girl was left penniless.

The third and last piece of evidence were the records Kaiba had found on the Gardners. They had fostered a child for eleven years before the child had come of age.

This turn of events intrigued him as well as repulsed him. He would have never imagined that Tea Gardner and Anzu Mazaki were one in the same. The Mazakis were a wealthy family, and the death of Tenshi Mazaki had been all over the news. Gozaburo had told him about it once in passing how part of the company went to Kaiba Corp. because they owned a large share of the company's stocks.

He let out a frustrated sigh and rubbed at his temples. What confused him the most was not the unfortunate turn of events in her life, as he had experienced a life full of just as unlikely occurrences, but rather the fact that she was always peppy and cheerful even though this had happened to her. Why did she not become cold and mean, disconnected from joy, the way that he had . . . ?

o o o o o

**Reviewer Comments**

_**patriot16: **__Thanks for the encouragement, babe. Hope this chapter was good!_

_**egyptionkitty: **__Whew . . . that was a doozy. O_O LOL I combed through it, and it was a bit hard to read the block of text, but from what I see, the majority of my errors come from typos, wrong word choices, and just awkward phrasing. I really wish my high school class had offered a class on grammar...grumble grumble. I'll try my best to make sure I proofread more thoroughly. If you see any mistakes I repeat on a regular basis, or just horrible typos that stick out like a sore thumb, just lemme know and I'll be sure to fix them. Going back to reloading them, though...I don't know, haha, cuz I'm lazy like that. But I really do appreciate the work you did to correct my mistakes, and they were pretty illuminating, so thank you. ^_^_

_**XxGoddessAthenaxX: **__I'll try not to spoil it for you, but Tea did get to speak with Yami later on. It really wasn't just the Myra incident that caused Tea to break away from the group, but . . .ooh, it's hard not to spoil it, but Yami does something incredibly awful, in my opinion. You might really hate him when you find out, haha. Well, enjoy the chapter!_

_**Silver Fantasy: **__Trust me, if you compared Andi-chan's original chapters to the ones that are up there right now, you would see a difference. Just by looking at the ones I "beta-d" versus the ones that I had no involvement with, it's easy to see the writing styles are completely different, and while my style is probably more mature now, you can tell by reading the whole fic that the writing changes in the middle of the fic. I did a lot more than just fixing grammatical errors, and I'll stop before I start on a tirade, but yeah, you can take my word for it that I changed a lot without getting any credit. If I choose to continue the stories after posting the chapters I worked on (with necessary changes, of course), I'm going to take the story in a different direction, since I have no legal or moral right to use someone else's plot that I was not involved with, plus I really didn't like the way the fic went anyways, LOL. And don't worry about the whole seriousness thing, LOL. This story is going to stay pretty light until the heavy parts come up, and I am taking a bit of liberty with everyone's characterization, just as a heads up. :) Hope you liked this new chapter, and thanks for reviewing._

_**DJ**__: WHY, THANK YOU!! XD ENJOY THE CHAPTER!_

_**anivahs: **__I'm really glad you like the fic so much. Sorry the update is so late, but you know, school. XD It's hard writing believable romance involving Kaiba, but he's probably the most interesting to write with just because of that. Love is a battlefield, after all! LOL Thanks for reviewing!_

_**killthesnakes:**__ Thanks! I needed that encouragement. Enjoy the chapter!_

_**Gryffindor's Goddess: **__Kaiba is freaking hilarious in the Abridged Series, haha. Haven't watched it in a while, I really need to. Sorry that the update took so long, but I hope you're still reading. Enjoy!_

_**MissDomaYuset: **__Yeah, I do have a soft spot for this story . . . :) Glad you like it, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Thanks as always for loyally reviewing!_

_**zenbon zakura**__: I knew someone would find that line funny. I cracked a huge grin writing that. Thanks for getting my sense of humor!_

_**nma5: **__Although I'm not 100 percent positive, I think that the dub of the anime changed the fates of the parents. In the original manga and Japanese version, their mother dies in childbirth, and their father dies in a car accident. And yes, Tea had her own apartment. The story is based in the suburbs in New York near NYC, but I'm not familiar with the area, since I live in the south, so I may screw up on accents, where things are located, stuff like that. Sorry in advance. Hope the update's not too late!_

_**Gigi207: **__Cheering is always good. LOL Thanks for the review, even a short one's encouraging. Sorry for the late chapter, enjoy!_

END


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: Rumination**

_posted: 4/17/10_

_ISF: Yeah, I guess I lied about posting more during Christmas break. Oh well. But anyways, here's the latest chapter._

o o o o o

It was rather early for Seto Kaiba to be leaving work, but none of his employees complained, as they were too busy scurrying out of his way as their superior strode down his halls. Too many times, slow people had been bowled over by an unimpassioned Seto.

Seto had already notified his chauffer that he was going home, and he stepped into the backseat without so much as a word, ruminating silently. He was too busy thinking to care about much.

All that was on his mind was getting to Tea. Confronting her.

He wondered for a moment what her past was like. Was it anything like his? His own memories sent a shiver down his back, though he gave no outward indication of it.

Secretly, he felt slightly guilty about opening her old wounds. He knew personally what that was like. But he gave himself a mental shake and a surly attitude took the place of his guilt. It had happened years ago, he recited gruffly in his head, and surely the woman had gotten over it by _now_. But yet . . .

His cold intellect growled at the pangs of his conscience. Never mind that the only reason he had much of a reason to live was for Mokuba's sake. Never mind that she did not seem to have much of anything to live for, judging by the infrequency she made reference to her old high school trio.

_I guess that was the reason why she didn't go back to Japan_, he thought to himself.

o o o o o

Tea wiped her eyes briskly before returning to clothes folding. She tried to busy herself with her work, but her attempts were, for the most part, unsuccessful. As soon as she got into the swing of things, it seemed that her stupid tears started up again.

It was hard to ignore the memories. It was hard to forget things sometimes.

_A five-year-old child walked towards a man seated at a desk, doing paperwork. He was clad in a business suit, despite the late hour. The child rubbed at her sleepy eyes before tugging at his shirt._

_ "Da — um, Father, I did what you asked me to do," she said, holding out a stack of papers. He took them from her hands without a break in his work._

_ "Don't tug on my shirt," her father said flatly, still facing away from his daughter. He continued his work with one hand, and with his free hand he riffled mechanically through the stack of papers. They were forms, all filled out in impossibly neat handwriting for a child._

_ "They're illegible." He tossed the stack back at his daughter, hitting her in the chest. Papers fluttered to the ground. "Do them over."_

_ Face scrunched up as she tried not to cry in exhaustion, she began to slowly pick up the papers._

_ "Where is that disk that I gave you? The auto-detection of altitude for the Kaiba Corporation missiles?"_

_ Hands shaking slightly, she pulled a CD case from her pocket and placed it into her father's open hand. He slid it into a disk drive and skimmed through the coding on the computer monitor from the corner of his eyes._

_ He did not see an imperfection in the child's program._

_ She was a true child genius. Employees six times her age had failed to produce work of such caliber._

_ He inconspicuously saved the program onto his hard drive, then popped the CD out._

_ "This is absolute garbage," he said slowly and meticulously. Tears formed in the corners of the girl's eyes. "I knew you would disappoint me again."_

_ With one hand, and still ceaselessly focused on his paperwork, he bent the disk until it snapped in half, then threw the pieces behind him. Wailing, the girl ran out of the room. The man poured himself a glass of liquor and drank it in one long gulp._

Tea sniffed her tears back. She had finished folding Mokuba's clothes and was in the middle of vacuuming. Her father. She had worked harder than any person, let alone a young child, should have, studying endlessly, designing programs and coding just for her father to look at her with a pleased face, instead of that of a drunken workaholic who cared about nothing but work and money after Tea's mother had passed away.

Yes, Tea Gardner was an actual child prodigy, a genius at mathematics. None of her classmates would have guessed, with the way that she laughed good-naturedly when she was handed back math tests she intentionally failed. She hated math now, honestly loathed it, because every time she saw an equation she remembered the days she spent working at a computer that was bigger than her at age five.

She had felt a plethora of overwhelming emotions at her father's funeral. Anger. Previously buried hatred at him for treating her so cruelly. But, curiously enough, she had not shed one single tear for him. Even when she was at his funeral, in the front row, staring at the coffin that she knew held her father's mangled corpse, she felt no sadness for him. She then spent two long years in an orphanage before being taken in by her foster parents, who gave her at least a home and good food, if not the love and acceptance adoptive parents would have.

And now, here she was. Anzu Mazaki, the child prodigy and former heiress to the Mazaki fortune, working as a maid to Seto Kaiba and as a nanny to Mokuba Kaiba. The irony was tickling. Tenshi Mazaki would have disowned her, but Momoko, her mother, probably would not have minded, from what Tea could remember of her. All smiles and soft hands and the warm smell of homemade pastries, despite having married a millionaire.

Tea was absolutely certain that her mother would have loved her, no matter what.

She remembered feeling sad at _her _funeral. That was the day that her father had begun to drink, surround himself in his work, and became abusive.

The only people Tea had was when she was in high school, when she made good friends with Yugi, Joey, and Tristan. But thanks to what happened senior year, she did not even have them. Tea rubbed her leg, which had begun to ache, and continued her work. She really was all alone now.

o o o o o

_ISF: Yeah. Short, I know. Not really in the mood for writing reviewer comments at the moment, but thanks for all those whose reviewed for Chapter 4. A special shout out to __**MiladyPrincess**__, who reminded me that some people are still actually reading my fan fiction, and I shouldn't forget about you guys. :) Until next time._

_ISF_


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